Which Shall It Be?
by Mariel1
Summary: Clowns aren't everyone's cup of tea. Especially when they pop out of innocent-looking chests. Most people like getting free stuff, but Dr. Jaming, who is suspicious of such things, doesn't know what to make of it when he finds one of these chests and meets the clown that lives inside!


"Which Shall It Be?"

 _Author's Note:_ _This takes place when Dr. Jaming is still working for Emperor Griffon. I don't know about you, but those 'Happy Clown' chests always made me jump a little when I found one._

Dr. Jaming knelt on his platform and peered over the edge as he brought the craft down through the tree canopy. The Rainbow Butterfly Wood really was quite beautiful, as long as the mosquito population was low. Rainbow Falls was _spectacular_ , but he had been told to avoid that part of the forest in his search for supplies; the Rainbow Butterfly was in a state of insanity, thanks to Griffon's influence, and would likely attack friend and foe alike.

Sadly, things weren't as serene as they appeared to be at first glance. The creatures of the forest should be going about their business, raising their families and doing what they had to do in order to survive. Instead, they had been recruited by Griffon in order to become living obstacles, and as they rose up to attack Max and Monica, they were cut down just as quickly. The two adolescent humans didn't even know that the creatures weren't in their right mind, and of course the kids hadn't hesitated to protect themselves when they were attacked.

Jaming sighed softly through his nose as his solitude allowed him to lower his walls just a little bit. _'It seems almost a pity...'_

He shook his head. There was no 'almost' about it! This wasn't right, and he knew it. He also knew that, like those creatures down there, he had only one choice; serve Griffon, or lose his life. And, as lousy as his life had been, Dr. Jaming did not _want_ to die.

Below him, a pair of Himarra took turns making a strange sound, and he realized that they were _speaking_ to each other. He watched them for several moments, fascinated, then moved on. If Griffon caught him slacking off, he was sure to be punished! He looked to his left and did a double-take at the sight of a healing fountain before he blushed and turned away. _'It looks...indecent.'_

Finally, he sat back on his haunches and shook his head. Max and Monica had gotten to this area sometime before Jaming himself, and the place had more or less been picked clean. "Ahh, well...I guess I'm going back empty-handed again. Gaspard isn't going to like this."

It was then that he spotted something, just off the beaten path. He pressed a button on his control panel, and the platform slowly lowered several feet, allowing him to make out what it was. Hidden among the ferns was an old chest, and it was still closed. Either they had missed it, or they hadn't wanted what was inside. "Hmph...It's probably something useless, like that copper kettle I found in the last one."

There didn't seem to be anything dangerous nearby, so Jaming hopped off of his platform and began fiddling with the lid. It wasn't locked, but the hinges were horribly rusted, and he prayed that he wouldn't pinch his fingers as he worked to pry the chest open. He grunted with the effort, glad that Gaspard wasn't there to watch. Jaming wasn't a weak man, but he wasn't a very strong one either. He was, in a word, _average,_ and Gaspard was the fighter.

Finally, with a noise resembling that of a pop gun, the lid snapped open and an odd being levitated from the box with such speed that Jaming fell on his ass with a yelp and wondered if it was possible to have a heart attack at the age of thirty-one.

"Ha-ha!" The man, if it even _was_ a man, laughed as it looked down at Jaming and held out its arms as if making the letter 'T'.

"What the..." Jaming panted as he looked up at what could only be called a _clown_. White pancake makeup, painted-on smile, colorful clothing.

"Hey there!" The clown said in a deep, pleasant voice that immediately made Jaming suspicious. "How's it going, buddy?"

"I'm not your buddy." Jaming got slowly to his feet and took a step back, looking up at the floating clown. "Are you one of Flotsam's men? Because he's..."

Was Flotsam really dead, though? As far as Jaming knew, Flotsam was simply _gone;_ there had been no confirmation of his death.

"I don't know anyone by that name. Why do you look so afraid? It's Happy Clown Present time! Now, which one would you like?" Two boxes, one yellow with a green bow and one white with a red bow, appeared floating above the clown's hands.

"I would _like_ to know what you were doing inside that chest," Jaming narrowed his eyes. "As difficult as it was to open, you must have been in there for quite some time. How did you even survive?"

The clown chuckled. The bells on its hat jingled as it shook its head. "You're just full of questions, aren't you? Which shall it be?"

"Is this a trick?"

No answer from the clown. It simply smiled patiently and waited for Jaming's answer. The silence became long and (for Jaming, at least) awkward, and soon the blue human was fidgeting where he stood, rubbing the back of his neck and shifting his weight from his right foot to his left. But from the clown? Not one syllable.

Curious now, Jaming took his eyes from the clown's face long enough to look at the two wrapped boxes. If he were to pick one of the presents, which one _would_ he pick? The yellow one with the green bow seemed to hold his attention better than the white one with the red bow, and he shrugged his shoulders. "If I had to choose, it would be the yellow one, but-"

"Very good!" Crowed the clown, and the boxes evaporated into nothing, leaving behind their contents, which floated above the clown's hands as the boxes themselves had done.

"What the-" Jaming took another step backwards, his guard immediately going back up. In the box that he hadn't chosen was a loaf of bread. Useless. In the box that he _had_ chosen, whether or not he had meant to, was what appeared to be a coin.

"Here you are!" The clown leaned forward and held out the coin, which still floated above its hand.

Jaming quickly shot out a hand and swiped the coin, unsure whether this being meant well or ill, and as soon as he had the coin in his possession the clown _and_ the chest were both gone. With the clown gone, it was as if a spell had been broken, and Jaming quickly turned and leapt back onto his platform and rose above the canopy as quickly as possible.

It wasn't until Jaming was standing before Gaspard that he remembered being warned not to come back empty-handed.

Gaspard showed no emotion at all as he spoke to Dr. Jaming. "I realize that there is very little to find after those two have been through an area before you, but I find it hard to believe that you found absolutely _nothing._ Explain yourself."

"I _did_ find a few things. Some bits of glass, some hunks of copper. You told me not to bring back anymore of those. Oh," Jaming's hand flew to his breast pocket, and he withdrew the coin. "I also found this. I'm not quite sure what it is."

"It is a _coin_. I thought you were a genius," Gaspard smirked as he took the coin and looked it over.

"I _know_ it's a coin, but I've never seen one like that before," Jaming scowled up at Gaspard, feeling rather insulted.

"Hm..." Gaspard held up the coin, turning it to look at both sides of it. It was steel-gray, and there was an identical red hourglass symbol on each side. _He_ knew what this was, but he had no use for it and flipped it back to Jaming with a shrug. The scientist scrambled to catch it, and Gaspard turned to go. "It's worthless. Why don't you hold onto it, though?"

"Why would I want it if it's worthless?" asked Jaming, pocketing the coin anyway.

"Souvenir. Get on your platform and go back out."

"Why? I've looked all over that forest. There's nothing to find!" Jaming protested.

"Maybe you'd care to explain that to Emperor Griffon yourself?" Gaspard raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"I would not," Jaming replied sourly, hopping onto his platform once more. "But I'm telling you, it's a waste of time."

"Nonsense," Gaspard leaned against the Death Ark's railing. "I'm giving you a second chance. Take it or leave it."

"I'll take it," sighed Jaming before turning back to Gaspard with a grin. "By the way, you've got a spider on your cape."

Gaspard made a disgusted face as he brushed the spider off and stepped on it. "Get out of here, before I change my mind!"


End file.
